54. Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte – Padiglione della Lettonia

54. Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte – la Biennale di Venezia - Illuminazioni

Dal 4 giugno al 27 novembre 2011 

Padiglione della Lettonia

Kristaps Gelzis - Tranquillità artificiale (Il Paesaggio Contemporaneo)

The exhibition entitled "ARTIFICIAL PEACE (Contemporary Landscape)" showcases artist Kristaps ?elzis—one of the most unique and brilliant personalities in Latvian contemporary art.

The "Artificial Peace (Contemporary Landscape)" strides the borderline between monumental painting and conceptualism while belonging to both. The works are in watercolour technique, using luminescent water-based acrylic paints.

The interaction between colour, light, imagination, and emotion forms the underlying concept. The large format watercolour series "Contemporary Landscape" is the core of the exhibit. Reflecting the most striking daily transitions, these paintings tell the story of a very personal relationship to the world. The huge pulsating fields of colour represent a distillate of the artist's emotions whose further evolution is up to the viewer. The silhouettes of the visitors become part of the artwork: interactive images provoke the interpretation of the narrative. In the context of "Artificial Peace" light plays a particular role: the fluorescent bulbs, the so-called "blue lights" help the gaze to penetrate the deepest layers of the painting. Light becomes a kind of emotional binding substance between the visitor and the artwork, throwing the formal qualities of the painting in high relief and revealing the endless depth of the painted space.

KRISTAPS ?ELZIS was born in 1962 in R?ga. He completed studies at the Department of Graphics of the Art Academy of Latvia (1986). Together with other conceptual art pioneers of his generation, he has been actively involved in Latvian contemporary art processes since the mid 1980s. Since 1997 he is Assistant Professor at the Department of Visual Communication and Graphics of the Art Academy of Latvia. The artist has participated in many significant international art projects. His works are represented in the collections of Helsinki KIASMA Contemporary Art Museum, the Latvian National Museum of Art and the Artists' Union of Latvia. The idea at the core of Kristaps ?elzis's creative work is implemented in the most appropriate material—on planes, spatially or plastically, using all of the technology and media now available. He is sensitive to the symbolic elements of the local environment, which are then masterfully interpreted in his works, and has the courage to be openly ironic about the current political events.

COMMISSIONER

DAIGA RUDZ?TE (1968) has graduated from the Journalism Department of the University of Latvia. For many years a prolific art critic, she has worked as an editor of the magazine of visual arts "Studija". Rudz?te is one of the founders of the Indie Culture Project Agency and its creative director. Since 2007 she has been an independent exhibition curator and marketing, public relations, and advertising consultant for the national and international culture projects. She is the chief curator of the Cesis Arts Festival, the major summer contemporary art event in Latvia. She is one of the founders and executive directors of the Purv?tis Prize—the main Latvian national award for contemporary visual arts.